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Success in sight for blind students
Chandigarh, June 9 Parminder has scored 77 per cent in matric examinations conducted by the Punjab School Education Board the results of which were declared this evening. In fact, for Parminder it is double party time in his house because his brother Satwinder has also scored 68 per cent marks. Six students appeared in the board exams from this institute and all of them have passed with flying colours. Alka (76 per cent), Karamjit Kaur (76 per cent), Puja (71 per cent) and Yashpal (76 per cent), all have added glory to the institution. According to Mr K.R. Sood, secretary-cum-principal of the institution, good results have always been a tradition of the institute and this year’s result is the latest example of it. “This would not have been possible without the hard work of the children and the staff,” he said, adding that the credit for the result also goes to the untiring effort of the chairman of the institute, Maj-Gen Rajendra Nath. Paul Singh, father of Parminder and Satwinder and a native of Roorki Kham village near Mullaopnpur Garibdass, is unable to express his happiness. “My sons never allowed their blindness to become a barrier in the path of their success,” he said. The outstanding performance of the students also reflects that though they need sticks to walk and Braille to study, they are no less than normal children.
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‘Govt agriculture policy responsible for empty granaries’
Chandigarh, June 9 Dr Alagh said the government blundered in handling the support price of wheat and instead of empowering the Indian farmers paid a much heavier price for wheat import. Even the policy of giving Rs 50 per quintal bonus for wheat procurement came too late, he said. Any price below the import price would have meant less fiscal deficit and welfare at home rather than abroad. Professor Y.K. Alagh argued that in the United States where corporatisation was seen as vastly improving profitability for farmers, one way of strengthening the kisans bargaining power would be a fallback income assurance scheme. For Punjab, he said, if the top quartile of farmers were producing around 4 quintals of grain per hectare and making a profit of around Rs 300 per
qtl, an efficiency oriented regulator (competitive farms with a single purchaser) would call the shots and assure them a fallback of say Rs 12,000 per hec of net cash income. This could also be justified with a border price of Rs 8 per kg of grain. The policy could be hedged in the future market by the government. Prof G.S. Bhalla of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, said the diversification of agriculture was directly related to increasing productivity for food production. Today, the rate of growth of foodgrain in the country was lower than the rate of the growth of population. This had led to a rise in the price of foodgrain more than the overall prices of commodities, and in the process the poor had been priced out. He further added that in the case of Punjab, the problem was a little more serious. This was because rice production had led to overuse of water and depletion of water resources. Low worthwhile efforts had been made to develop diversification, which were less water intensive. Some of the policy measures taken by the Central Government had also worked against food security. The most important was the introduction of targeted public distribution system (PDS). The PDS, which was meant to be only as an instrument of price subsidy, was softly used for anti-poverty purposes. This had led to disproportionate increase in the subsidy bill. There was a need at the all-India level to discuss these issues more seriously. Simultaneously, in Punjab and Haryana, an attempt should be made to develop appropriate technologies for rice which were less water intensive, he added. Dr Pramod Kumar, Director, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh, was of the view that there was a need to diversify economy before planning for crop diversification. The policies should be devised to empower the farmers before exposing them to the mighty multinationals. During the discussion, it was mentioned that to counter-pose crop diversification to food security was not the right approach. The experts from Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhaina, and Prof Karam Singh of the Farmers Commission asserted that it was the over obsession with food security which had led to the crisis of agriculture.
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Matric exam: Mohali schools fare poorly
Mohali, June 9 Only one student, Rajwinder Singh, of Government Model Senior Secondary
School, Phase III B 1, figured in the merit list comprising names of 451 students. Rajwinder Singh was placed
19th in the merit list and he got 582 marks out of a total of 650.
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Maintenance schedule
Chandigarh, June 9 Work on drinking water facilities at Government High School, Sector 23, GHS-24, GHS-25, Government Primary School, Sector 26, GHS-26, GHMS-26, GHS-26 (Police Lines), GHS Daria, GHS Kaimbwala, GHS Mauli Jagran, GPS Makhan Majra, GHS Behlana and GHS Raipur Khurd will be completed by June 20. The department has fixed a deadline of June 30 for drinking water at GHS-20, GMHS-26, GPS-7, GHS-7, GMSSS-Karsan, GHS-Karsan, GSSS -8, GHS-Kajheri, GHS-Hallo Majra, GPS Raipur Kalan, GHS Dadu Majra, GHS Khuda Lahora and GHS Khuda Alisher Work at GMHS-43, GMSSS-16, GMSSS-10, GMSSS-46, GMSSS-M.M., GHS-11, GMSSS-10, GSSS-Dhanas, GSSS-Maloya, GPS-Palsora, GMMS-Khuda Jassu, GPS-Kishangarh is scheduled to be completed by July 12. The department has also fixed separate deadlines for annual and special repair in various government schools in the city and villages. The target date for work at GPS-Mauli Jagran, GMMS-23D, GHS-7, GHS-24, GHS-30, GHS-40, GHS-41A, GHS-Mauli Jagran, GHS-Mauli Colony, GMHS-Badheri, GMHS-42, GMSSS-10, GMSSS-18, GMSSS-19, GMSSS-20D, GMSSS-21, GMSSS-35, GMSSS-37B, GMSSS-44, GSSS-19, GSSS-37C and GSSS-45 is June 30. Work at GPS-33, GPS-46, GHS-11, GHS-26, GHS-29, GHS-26, GHS-Mani Majra, GHS-Dadu Majra, GHS- Khuda Alisher, GHS-Behlana and GHS-Hallo Majra will be completed by July 10. The deadline for GPS-Mani Majra I and II, GPS-Indira Colony, Mani Majra, GPS-Raipur Kalan, GPS-Makhan Majra, GMSSS-33, GSSS-20-D, GSSS-Manimajra, GSSS-Dhanas is July 31.
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Book on environment released
Chandigarh, June 9 The book, published by Panjab University, on issues pertaining to the environment is an attempt to achieve multi-disciplinary knowledge in terms of data and information in the field of environment. The 207-page-long book has nine chapters, contributed by Prof J. Behari, JNU; Prof R.C.
Sobti, Panjab University; Dr A.K. Aggarwal, BHU Medical Institute; Prof B. Nehru and Dr Ashwani
Koul, Panjab University. Dr D.V. Rai, its editor, has contributed four chapters. Professor Pathak observed that the book was a potential document of knowledge for higher education, which could be utilised in teaching and research in inter-disciplinary curricula of undergraduate and postgraduate students in Indian universities and associated colleges. The book provided fundamental resource material for global research and the PU Publication Bureau would bring out a low-priced edition with certain additions, he added.
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BSP to start computer education programme
Chandigarh, June 9 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting presided over by Mr Maan Singh Manhera, national general secretary. A computer was also donated for the people of Bapu Dham Colony, according to Mr Sanjeev Chunni, general secretary of the local unit.
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HC upholds sentence of Afghan national in heroin smuggling case
Chandigarh, June 9 Aga, who was employed as a crew member with the Afghan national airline, Ariana Afghan Airlines, had been caught red-handed trying to smuggle 1.4 kg of high-quality heroin through the Raja Sansi International Airport near Amritsar on August 1, 1997. The contraband was worth over Rs 1 crore in the international market and Aga had concealed the same in a specially-prepared false compartment in a box containing grapes. Aga had arrived at Raja Sansi on an Ariana Airlines flight the same day. When Customs officials posted at Raja Sansi checked his belongings, they discovered the heroin, which had been cleverly hidden in a compartment inside the carton-containing grapes. The seizure was affected in the presence of witnesses and Aga was booked under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Drugs and Substances (NDPS) Act. On June 7, 2000, a special court at Amritsar had found the Afghan national guilty of the offence and had sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. However, in his appeal against the order of the special court, Aga had questioned the verdict, saying that the court had relied on unsubstantiated chain of events to hold him guilty. His counsel had also stated that there were many discrepancies in the statements of the witnesses and the Customs officials who had caught him. However, Mr Justice Virender Singh, while upholding the sentence, observed that the prosecution had been able to prove the charges against the appellant and the conscious possession of the contraband had been established. Therefore, his appeal was dismissed.
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High Court
Chandigarh, June 9 Mr Shekhawat has also been appointed standing counsel for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to appear before the Panchkula court where the case arising out of the dispute for the control of the Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) is coming up for further hearing on Friday.
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Rinku Kalia regales audience
Chandigarh, June 9 Rinku Kalia, national winner of Zee TV’s highest-rated musical show “Se Re Ga Ma” commenced with an invocatory recital of a devotional composition by Kabir in a calm contemplative mood. The select audience were treated to a scintillating performance as the lyrical and romantic element of the best poetical creations of Shiv Batalvi, Surjit Paatar, Nandlal Noorpuri, Bawa Balwant and traditional songs found their best expression in her renditions. Former Punjab Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who was the chief guest on the occasion, complimented the artist and akademy president Dolly Guleria for depicting the richness and rustic vigour of the pristine Punjabi folksongs. Earlier, the secretary of the akademi, Prof Rajpal Singh, while introducing the singer and the musicians, detailed the activities of the akademi in reviving the rich musical heritage of the land of five rivers. Rinku was accompanied by Avtar Singh on keyboard, Sushant Sharma on guitar, Suresh Naik on dholak, Subhash Naik
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Iqbal Ahmed a votary of Amir Khusro’s music
Panchkula, June 9 Iqbal Ahmed observed that the great master did not rest with the beautiful form of his compositions, but endeavoured to project into it his innermost experiences and consciousness and make his creations a reflection of his personality. That is why the creations of various ragas, compositions of “Thumris”, “Taranas”, are adored and immortalised by artists with reverence even today after 750 years of their formation by the maestro. Iqbal runs the Amir Khusro Institute to promote the traditions of Indian classical music arts. Carrying forward the rich legacy of the Delhi gharana, Iqbal Ahmed was adapted and groomed by Ustad Chand Khan Sahib before his musical skills were sharpened by other wizards of music. His dedication, hard work and positive attitude to imbibe the elements of literature, poetic patterns, in depth study of classical and folk traditions made him a complete artist like his idol Amir Khusro. A galaxy of honours followed, but winning the prestigious Amir Khusro gold medal from Delhi University and later International Amir Khusro gold medal infused confidence in him and he never looked back. The invitation from the government of Great Britain for lecture demonstration and concerts in 1988 was a learning experience, he says. “My musical performances in Germany, Pakistan, the USA, Canada , Malaysia and Tajikistan and other countries were rejuvenating and satisfying as it gave me ample opportunity to propagate the ideals and Sufiana spirit of Amir Khusro”, claims Iqbal
Ahmed. On the proliferation of classical art forms, Iqbal Ahmed opined that the art was prospering but not the artists. A music director of over a dozen serials, including tele films, he is firmly committed to the promotion of classical music traditions of Amir Khusro. |
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Sur Sangam to launch talent hunt contest
Panchkula, June 9 The organisation has decided to organise preliminary rounds of audition for the participants at the Indian Medical Association (IMA) building in Sector 15 here. The candidates would be selected for the finals to be held in Yavanika on June 17. Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj, organiser of the event, said participants could submit their entries with a fee of Rs 100 at the IMA building. The competition would be based on Hindi film songs (single and duet). The best performances would be referred to the Sa Re Ga Ma, a music competition organised by Zee TV. Punjabi comedians and singers would enthrall the audience on this annual future, claimed Dr Bhardwaj.
— TNS |
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